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Kaiser Hwang

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Brain Injury Researchers Watch YouTube Videos for Trauma Research

by Kaiser Hwang on September 8, 2009 at 06:08 AM


YouTube's vast repository of videos offers video of just about anything imaginable -- from rare concert footage to gadget reviews. But, according to a report from the University of Kentucky posted on LabSpaces, brain injury researchers are using the site for something more noble: head trauma research. Best of all, they've actually made some concrete findings that could help coaches make safer decisions for their injured players.

The findings revolve around what Jonathon Lifshitz, assistant professor at the University of Kentucky Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, calls the "fencing response." After watching hundreds of hours of YouTube videos showcasing various head impacts, Lifshitz and his team noticed that, after a player suffered a severe blow to the head, his forearm would involuntary assume an "en garde" fencing position -- sometimes before he even hit the ground. (One of the videos watched is shown above.) Believe it or not, this behavior was noticed in rats as well.

Such a physical response indicates trauma to a part of the brainstem that controls balance. If left untreated, such an injury can lead to permanent brain damage and death. Internal damage is hard to assess by simply looking at a person, so if a player displays the fencing response after an impact, a coach should have her treated immediately instead of sending her back onto the field. Score one for YouTube! [From: U.K./LabSpaces]
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Nielsen: More Americans Watching TV While Surfing the Net

by Kaiser Hwang on September 7, 2009 at 01:25 PM


As the Internet has become more accessible and essential to our lives, it's natural that we find ourselves online more than ever -- even when we're watching television. According to a new quarterly report (PDF link) by Nielsen, 57-percent of Americans watch television while surfing the Net at least once a month. (We'll admit, we do this on a daily basis.)

The report also contains some other interesting trends and numbers. One of our favorites notes that 28-percent of respondent's Internet time is spent simultaneously watching TV, while only 3-percent of their TV time is spent simultaneously surfing the Web. Did you get that?

What's most interesting is that the time spent watching videos on any platform (Internet, television, mobile devices) has gone up. Rather than killing traditional television, it seems online videos are actually complementing it. [From: Nielsen (PDF link), via Ars Technica]
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Virtual Gnome Police Crack Down on Spammer Hucksters in 'EverQuest'

by Kaiser Hwang on September 5, 2009 at 09:36 AM


When playing massively multiplayer online (MMO) games, the typical player must spend tens, if not hundreds, of hours fully developing his character, earning a significant amount of in-game currency, and obtaining powerful, rare items and weapons. This often lengthy grind has encouraged some players to buy virtual items and characters from others, via real money transactions -- an act that is explicitly banned in almost all MMO end-user license agreements. Making matters worse for both players and publishers, these virtual salesmen spam other players so much that it sometimes discourages honest gamers from playing, thus depriving publishers of a game's requisite monthly fees.

To help combat this illegal spamming, Sony Online Entertainment (SOE), a game publisher that runs such MMOs as 'EverQuest' and 'Star Wars Galaxies,' has formed the Norathian Underground Gnome Investigation Team. (Norath is the name of the fictional universe in which 'EverQuest' takes place.) According to Reuters, this nine-member group roams the various virtual worlds, finds spammers and their associates, and permanently bans their online accounts.

The team has already closed nearly 300,000 accounts since its founding, though many challenges still remain. Brad Wilcox, director of customer support at SOE, had this to say about the spammers: "A lot of them are offshore. It's very difficult to stop somebody that's in another country, particularly one where the laws aren't friendly to the United States and it can be very challenging." [From: Reuters]
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Apple's List of Software Incompatible With Snow Leopard

by Kaiser Hwang on September 1, 2009 at 01:36 PM

Upgrading a computer's operating system often means you'll be left with software and devices that are simply incompatible with the new version due to the removal of legacy code, and/or outdated drivers and software. We've seen this happen in every major operating system (OS) update, from Vista to Leopard, and we're seeing it once again with Snow Leopard, Apple's most recent OS X point update (10.6), released just days ago.

While it's impossible for Apple to test every application and hardware device with its OS, the company has posted a list of software that it knows to be incompatible with the 10.6 update. The big names include Parallels Desktop and Norton AntiVirus, though even Apple's own Airport Admin Utility for Graphite and Snow makes the list.

If you're thinking about jumping on the Snow Leopard bandwagon, we suggest you check the official sites for any critical software you use before doing so to look for any potential issues. It might also be helpful to check various Apple forums for user-generated lists of incompatible software, like this one from popular Apple site MacRumors. [From: TUAW]
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Is Wikipedia Too Big for Its Own Good?

by Kaiser Hwang on September 1, 2009 at 08:30 AM


In a blog post for the New York Times, writer Noam Cohen reflects on the challenges that Wikipedia faces in the coming years, as brought up at last week's Wikimania conference in Buenos Aires. One of the major points of discussion was the incredible growth the site had, and why it's currently slowing down. One of the theories offered suggests that most general topics have entries now, and future growth will be more dependent on "specialized articles, maintenance and news, both events and ideas and products."

Perhaps the greatest issue of all, though, is the very concept of the site itself: an encyclopedia that anyone can edit. As the site has grown over the years, pages have become more difficult to edit due to complex layouts, and "bots" that make edits on a mass scale. Page vandalism has also become a problem, and there is rising controversy on how to manage and maintain quality page edits.

The bigger Wikipedia becomes, the more potential it has to become an invaluable part of our lives -- but at what price? Does the site abandon it's very own motto of democratic and open contributions? Should they open the floodgates and hope we, the public, can sort it all out? Tell us what you think in the comments below! [From: The New York Times]
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The Olympus E-P1 Is Sexy, But Is It Worth the Hype?

by Kaiser Hwang on August 11, 2009 at 02:16 PM


What it is: The Olympus PEN E-P1 is the company's first Micro Four Thirds (MFT) camera -- a miniaturized alternative to a digital SLR (DSLR) based on a tech standard developed in cooperation with Panasonic. The physical design and name are throwbacks to the half-frame film cameras Olympus produced from the '50s through the '80s. The E-P1, priced at $799, includes a 14-42-millimeter, f3.5-5.6 zoom lens (equivalent to 28-84 mm on a traditional film camera).

Why it's different: The E-P1's retro styling stands out among other DSLR and point-and-shoot cameras. The compact body is a result of the MFT system, which reduces bulk by forgoing an SLR's internal mirror and prism for through-the-lens viewing. The result is a camera significantly smaller and lighter than a DSLR, but with the flexibility of interchangeable lenses and the photo quality that comes from a large image sensor. The only other MFT cameras on the market are Panasonic's G1 and GH1, which boast similar size reductions, but have a traditional DSLR shape.

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Mother of Autistic U.K. Hacker Calls on Obama for Help

by Kaiser Hwang on August 3, 2009 at 12:01 PM

Forty-three-year-old Londoner Gary McKinnon is facing extradition to the U.S. (as well as up to 60 years in a U.S. prison) if convicted of hacking into government computers, reports the BBC. He also has Asperger's syndrome, a type of autism disorder. After numerous failed attempts to have her son tried in the U.K., McKinnon's mother, Janis Sharp (pictured) is pleading directly to President Obama for help, having sent him a letter signed by 40 Members of British Parliament asking him to "bring this shameful episode to an end." Speaking outside the High Court last week, she added, "I'm just praying, please hear us, Obama, because I know you would do the right thing."

McKinnon claims he was simply looking for suppressed UFO-related documents, and that the attacks were in no way malicious. Still, laws were broken, and two judges found that extradition was the proper response, but also admitted that extradition and prison in the U.S. for the handicapped McKinnon might be "very difficult indeed." With the U.S.-U.K. extradition treaty recently failing to get a revision, it's unknown exactly what Obama's choices are in the matter. But Sharp is hopeful. Outside the High Court, she told reporters, "Obama wouldn't have this. He doesn't want the first guy extradited for computer misuse to be a guy with Asperger's, a UFO guy." [From: BBC News]
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Cell Phones Boost Saucy Manga Comics Sales in Japan (Among Women)

by Kaiser Hwang on August 3, 2009 at 07:20 AM


The manga (Japanese comics) industry in Japan has been in steady decline for the past decade, but it seems an unlikely savior has finally arrived: the cell phone. The New York Times is reporting that direct-to-cell sales of manga have jumped up 43-percent from last year -- a significant jump in and of itself, but even more impressive given the cell phone manga market's typical slow yearly growth. Reasons given for the sudden surge in business include fast cellular networks, good prices with convenient payment processes (charges simply show up on one's monthly phone bill), and the fact that manga simply looks gorgeous on a high resolution back-lit screen.

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No Wi-Fi on Your Phone? New MicroSD Card Changes That in a Flash

by Kaiser Hwang on July 26, 2009 at 02:30 PM

Believe it or not, there are a number of data-equipped cell phones that lack integrated Wi-Fi (like the new BlackBerry Tour). If you own one of these phones and it has a microSD slot, you may now be able to retroactively add Wi-Fi to it, thanks to a new card developed by KDDI Corp. Similar to wireless network-accessing camera memory cards, these cards can instantly (and hopefully cheaply) add network access to phones and other devices.

Unveiled at the Wireless Japan 2009 expo, the tiny 11 x 16 x 0.7mm card is equipped with an 802.11 b/g antenna. The card was demonstrated at the show with a laptop, (which makes it one of the smallest Wi-Fi dongles out there), but you can bet that smartphones are the desired target here. There's no word yet on pricing, or what phones will be compatible with the card, but it could make Web browsing on your old school flip phone a tolerable experience. [From: TechOn via CNET]
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Use a Custom Gmail Setup to Get Things Done

by Kaiser Hwang on July 25, 2009 at 01:10 PM

If your Gmail inbox is turning into a ginormous vat of unanswered e-mails and confusing labels, Lifehacker has a good template you can use to get your to-do list back on track. Their method involves a clever mix of a couple Google Labs features, some informative labels, and even optional search bookmarklets for quick access to various e-mails. If you follow every step they have listed, your inbox should look and function more like a slim and efficient Getting Things Done (GTD) application than an e-mail repository.

Keep in mind that this system won't do you a speck of good if you're not disciplined enough to follow and use the rules you set. After all, one of the ideas behind the GTD philosophy is to proactively, well, get things done. We haven't given the system a go for ourselves yet, but the logic and convenience of it all (especially for heavy Gmail users) seems pretty sound. [From: Lifehacker]
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Facebook Piles on the Guilt Before You Deactivate Your Account

by Kaiser Hwang on July 23, 2009 at 01:02 PM

One of the biggest challenges social networking sites face is retaining users. While Facebook seems to be doing just fine with its roughly 250 million current members, the site has a pretty sly trick up its sleeve for those considering deactivating their account. If you head to the deactivation page, you'll be shown five photos of your friends with a message saying they'll miss you. The page also ... Read more »
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Amazon Buys Zappos for $920M

by Kaiser Hwang on July 23, 2009 at 08:29 AM

Amazon is one of the world's largest online retailers for everything from books to electronics. Zappos is another one of the world's largest online retailers, but more specifically for shoes and clothes. If you think the two are a match made in heaven, you're not the only one: According to TechCrunch, Amazon has just purchased Zappos for a cool $920 million in shares and cash. Zappos has built a ... Read more »
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'Dark Flash' Eliminates Annoying Light From Picture-Taking Process

by Kaiser Hwang on July 21, 2009 at 08:40 AM

Flash photography lets us, among other things, take pictures in dimly lit situations. Unfortunately, when taking pictures of people, it often leads to the dreaded red eye and/or the deer-in-headlights effect, with blown out highlights and harsh shadows. The light itself can also be distracting, hence its exile from many museums, concerts, and public performances. But if NYU student Dilip Krishnan ... Read more »
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NSA Whistleblower Gets Ignored by Everyone

by Kaiser Hwang on July 21, 2009 at 07:12 AM

When the New York Times revealed in December of 2005 that the U.S. government was eavesdropping on citizens' telephone and e-mail conversations without warrants, a retired AT&T technician named Mark Klein knew he had physical evidence showing how the feds had been stealing information from AT&T's network. Strangely, though, nobody gave him the time of day. According to Klein, even the ... Read more »
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Stix Cell Phone Only Charges When You Exercise

by Kaiser Hwang on July 20, 2009 at 04:42 PM

A phone that encourages you to lose weight? That's the novel idea behind the Stix concept phone. You can hook the phone, thanks to its pliable body, to a belt loop or wrap it around your wrist. As the phone can only be charged by kinetic energy, you'll have to walk, run, or otherwise work out if you plan on talking to your friends and loved ones via the phone. It also has a built-in pedometer ... Read more »
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